18 March 2022

This week seems to have heralded the arrival of spring, with the tantalising promise of sunnier days and lighter evenings. The beautiful and warmer weather has been appreciated by all our pupils, not least our Nursery children, who have enjoyed spending even more time than usual outside. Today, employing skills in patience, numeracy, speech and language, the nursery children explored the school grounds on a fun bug hunt! The children were very excited about their discoveries, asking lots of questions and exhibiting some brilliant counting and observation skills.

On Wednesday evening, our GCSE Drama pupils were treated to a wonderful adaptation of Andrea Levy’s ‘Small Island’ at the National Theatre in London. The pupils were enthralled by the historic, epic and inspiring story, depicting the lives of four individuals of the Windrush generation and their experience of post-war life. The show was beautiful and powerful, with moments of sadness and humour, accompanied by a fantastic set! Mrs Ooko, our Head of English and Drama said it was a privilege once again be able to enjoy live theatre, particularly when it was such a brilliant and thought- provoking performance, with the added benefit of a pre-theatre pizza!

Also on Wednesday, we welcomed Year 13 Parents for their final Parents’ Evening ahead of their A levels later this summer. It was lovely to welcome so many parents into school and touch base for a final time before the examination season begins. It is really very exciting to see the Sixth Form students approaching their A-levels and a truly special moment in the history of the school. I am grateful for all the collective support we have received from the whole school community in the realisation of this and we wish our Year 13 pupils every success in the final stages of their Cranford journey.

On Thursday, our Junior School were delighted to once again, after a two-year Covid-induced gap, be able to host our Year 5 Maths Challenge! It was lovely to open our doors and welcome 12 visiting schools, who participated in different mathematical tasks, showcasing their incredible problem-solving skills and mental agility. The standard of these young mathematicians was higher than ever, as they worked with dice, pentominoes, playing cards, dominoes, tangrams, and counters. The event culminated in a final round with participants working through multiple choice mathematical problems. It was an action-packed afternoon, with wonderful participation from all our Year 5 teams, ably supported by our Senior Year 10 pupils, who were markers for the event and excellent ambassadors for our school.

Have a good weekend!

Dr James Raymond

Headmaster